Children

JPRA Children’s Programs

Check out the Jack Purcell Recreation Association (JPRA) line-up of children’s programs. We
offer a variety of activities for children of all ages!

It All Happens Here at Jack Purcell!

Our After School Program is the largest and most popular. For children in grades 1 to 6,
activities are planned and scheduled every day of the school year from September through
June. This program also includes P.A. Days as scheduled during the school year by the Ottawa-
Carleton District School Board and a March Break Camp. And every summer, JPRA offers an
eight-week Summer Camp, with activities planned around theme weeks.
Children’s programming has had substantial growth in the past decade as a result of JPRA’s
dedicated staff and management. Ten years ago, the After School Program averaged about 35
children daily, with an average of nine children per day in our Summer Camp. Today, the After
School Program is our largest one, with a daily attendance of up to 105 children (our maximum
capability).
Under the direction of Sarah Routliffe, formerly the Children and Youth Programs Coordinator
and now the General Manager of the Association, Sarah has worked hard to increase the
attendance in children’s programs; she continues to provide input and direction to the new
Children and Youth Programs Coordinator, Tyler Charbonneau– both of whom have an vested
interest in ensuring the success of children’s programs, along with a dedicated group of ASP
counsellors.

How Our After School Program Works

The AS Program is organized to provide the maximum benefit to the children. Each child is
separated by their age group and grade: The Minis, The Juniors, and The Seniors. Each group is
assigned a staff, who works primarily with them during the time they are in the program, that
is, from 2:30 to 5:30 pm, Monday to Friday. There are 14 staff, each responsible and
handpicked, based on their knowledge and experience in working with children.
The afternoon is broken up into two activity periods and a 30-minute free time at the end of
the day. The Children and Youth Programs Coordinator plans activities on a monthly schedule,
which is posted at the centre and on our website. This provides parents and children with a look
at what the month ahead offers!
Each child has the option to attend their daily planned activity, such as gym, creative-art
sessions, cooking adventures, swimming in the Jack Purcell Pool, the Homework Club, and the
reading club. We also have planned activities based on the season (such as skating!) and special
instructors are brought in to present various workshops.

Other Children’s Programming

It doesn’t stop there! Our P.A. Day trips are also well-planned in advance. These trips may
include a visit to the Proulx Farm pumpkin patch (Bring a pumpkin home while you’re at it!),
movie theatre trips. This past summer, the JPRA Summer Camp children even had their first
visit to a baseball stadium and a private tour at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park.
Our Summer Camps are based on weekly registrations, with changing themes every week! Each
week includes one trip on either on a Wednesday or a Thursday, along with fun-filled daily
activities each day. Themes we have presented in the past include: Screaming Sports Week,
Crazy Camp Challenge Week, Supreme Superhero Week and Spectacular Summer Send-off!

Our Commitment

Our children’s programs offer a variety of activities for both children and staff! As a non-profit
organization, JPRA’s main goal is to provide the very best in recreation and leisure activities for
the community’s children, to ensure that all programming meets City of Ottawa standards, and
to ensure the safety and security of the children as they enjoy their fun-filled hours and days
with us.

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About Us

The Jack Purcell Community Centre, owned and operated by the City of Ottawa, has an 18-metre warm water pool which offers regular aquatic programming and specialized programs for individuals with special needs. The facility also has a fully accessible weight room, five meeting rooms of various sizes and access to an adjacent school gym. Through a partnersip with the Jack Purcell Community Centre, the not-for-profit Jack Purcell Recreation Association runs programming, through the facility, that aims to maintain and improve the quality of life of Centretown residents by focusing on recreation and leisure activities consistent with this purpose.